Childbirth is miraculous, beautiful, traumatic, and overwhelming, all at the same time, for both the baby and the mother. But for many children born today, squeezing through the birth canal is the easy part. Soon after birth, males born to North American women routinely face amputation of a fully functioning, healthy organ – the foreskin.

Circumcision is so commonplace in North America, it has long been considered the norm. The World Health Organization estimates the male circumcision rate in the U.S. to be 76% to 92%, while the rates in most of the Western European countries are less than 20%. Globally, more than 80% of the world’s men are left intact. An intact penis is not rare – an intact penis is the norm.

Medical professionals tell parents that circumcision is relatively painless, just a snip and it is over. Nothing could be further from the truth. Aside from the rare but possible complications, which include mutilation of the penis or death, the practice of circumcision is painful and traumatic.

The following nurses have come forward to share their knowledge and experience, to tell the truth about this practice.

Related: Circumcision Linked to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

Nicole, A Former Nursing Student

A few years ago, I began an OB/GYN hospital clinical as a student nurse. One day, I was enlisted to attend a ‘routine circumcision.

… I did not anticipate the lurching sensation that gripped my heart as I looked upon that baby. He was laying strapped down to a table, so small and new – pure and innocent – trusting – all alone – no defenses.

I walked toward the baby and wanted to take him off the table and shelter him – to tell him that it would be okay, that nobody would hurt him on my watch.

Then in walked the doctor. Loud. Obnoxious. Joking with his assistant. As if he was about to perform a 10-minute oil change.

Not once did he talk to this little baby. I am not sure he even looked at him – really looked at him.

Rather, he reached for his cold metal instruments and then reached out for his object of mutilation: this sweet newborn’s perfect, unharmed, intact penis.

I recall this little baby boy’s screams of pain and terror – his small lungs barely able to keep up with his cries and gasps for breath.

I turned in horror as I saw the doctor forcefully rip and pull the baby’s foreskin up and around a metal object.

Then out came the knife. Cut. Cut. Cut. Screaming. Blood.

I stood next to the baby and said, “You’re almost done sweetie. Almost done. There, done.”

Then came the words from the doctor, as that son-of-a-b***h dangled this little baby’s foreskin in midair and playfully asked, “Anybody care to go fishing?”

My tongue lodged in my throat.

I felt like I was about to vomit.

I restrained myself. It was now my duty to take the infant back to the nursery for “observation.”

… Back in the newborn nursery, rather than observing, I cradled the infant. I held him and whispered comforting words as if he were my own. I’ll never forget those new little eyes watch me amid his haze. He knew I cared about him. He knew he was safe in my arms. He knew that I was going to take him to his mommy. But, deep in his little heart, at some level, I know he wondered where his mommy was. While he lay there mutilated in a level of agony that we cannot imagine, in what was supposed to be a safe and welcoming environment after his birth, where was his mommy?

Related: Religious Reasons Not To Circumcise

Betty, RN

We are saying what is happening, because the male myth is, “Well, I was circumcised and I am fine, and my son was circumcised and he’s fine.”

But we’re saying, “Maybe you were circumcised, but it wasn’t fine, because we were there, and we saw what happened. It’s the same thing with your baby. We were there, and we saw it. It was not fine.”

… That is the next step, for the grown men to come forward. It’s happening now. There is a powerful coalition forming. We women are coming out as mothers and as witnesses to this brutal sexual assault. Women who have been circumcised in Africa are coming forward, too. We’re all saying this isn’t okay.

Mary, RN

We just wanted people to stop hurting babies. In 1992, we started a petition. Before that, I think we all had the sense that something was wrong, but we had never communicated about it. Everything I’d read said circumcision isn’t a necessary thing to do, from a medical or health standpoint. So why are we doing it? You take a newborn baby, strap him down to a board, and cut on him. It’s obviously painful!

Circumcision became so intolerable that five of us wrote a letter saying that ethically we could no longer assist. When we were getting ready to present the letter, other nurses came out of the woodwork and asked to sign it. Out of about 50 nurses, 24 signed it.

Now we’re conscientious objectors, but it’s still going on. We can still hear it.

… Behind closed doors, you can hear the baby screaming. You know exactly what part of the operation is happening by how the screams are.

Mary-Rose, RN

My dreams were about taking the babies and strapping them down, participating in the whole thing, and having the babies say to me, “Why are you doing this? You were just welcoming me, and now you’re torturing me. Why, why, why?”

I’ve watched doctors taking more foreskin than they should. When there’s too much bleeding, they burn the wound with silver nitrate so that the penis looks like it’s been burned with a cigarette. Then the doctor will tell us to go tell the mother that this is what it’s supposed to look like.

Related: Celebrities Against Circumcision

Chris, RN

I worked with countless intact men, mostly European immigrants in Chicago: Poles, Serbs, Lithuanians, etc. Younger men and older men. Men who could walk to the bathroom and men who constantly soiled themselves. Men who had indwelling Foley catheters and men who didn’t. Men who were impeccably clean and men who were homeless. Men who were healthy and men who were critically ill and severely immunocompromised. Never once did I encounter an adult male patient who had ever had a medical problem due to being intact.

… In fact, female patients are far more prone to fungal and bacterial genitourinary infections than male patients are—yeast infections, urinary tract infections, abscesses, etc. And we know that this is largely due not only to their shorter urethra, but also to their labial folds—their “excess” skin. Why don’t we cut that off? Why isn’t female circumcision considered for infection prophylaxis? That’s how we think of male circumcision. Except the reality is that, as with male patients, the “benefit” of circumcision would be negligible, because the number of serious complications with women staying “uncircumcised” is extremely minor.

So as it stands, we have two sons who are intact. One is almost five years old and the other is nearly three. They’ve never had a problem. During diapering they required less care and bother than our daughters did. And now, during bathing, we don’t retract or mess with their prepuce (foreskin).

They’re clean. They’re fine.

I suspect that someday they’ll be like my patients were: ninety years old and intact—with no regrets.

Related: Circumcision, the Primal Cut – A Human Rights Violation

Patricia, RN

I am a neonatal nurse practitioner with over 42 years of experience in maternal newborn health. I have seen many circumcisions, and I have been appalled at the pain that they have caused.

… In my experience as a neonatal nurse, I know that circumcisions are painful, that little boys will cry for days after the procedure. They need to be medicated with Tylenol. They need to have injections at the penile nerve to try to prevent the pain, but it doesn’t completely eliminate it. I have seen excessive bleeding after the procedure. I’ve seen disfigurement. I believe that little boys are made the way they are because it’s absolutely fine to be intact. If there was a problem with foreskin, nature would not have put it there. So let little boys decide when and if they want to be circumcised. But parents, please spare your child the pain and unnecessary surgery that is not without risk. Just think about it.

I have seen, not loss of the entire penis but definitely disfigurement, and definitely excessive bleeding that has required intervention by GU specialists, suturing. Complications occur frequently.

…When babies are born, one of the first developmental tasks is to learn to trust the world, which means being in the comforting arms of their mother and father. To subject them in the first couple of days after birth to this terribly painful procedure just seems like the wrong way to start life. But the bottom line is: it is not necessary.

Jacqueline Maire, RN

I am a retired nurse in France as well as in British Columbia, a mother, a grandmother, and today I really want to speak specifically to female circumcisers, those who cut the penis of little boys. I have questions. What is your excuse? Were you at one point molested by a male in your youth that makes you now take revenge on any penis whatsoever and whatever the age of the victim, in this case, a defenseless little boy? Did you ever have an orgasm? And I’m not talking while you’re making love, I’m just talking about sex. Never had an orgasm with an intact male and discovered the wonders and the perfection of the act? Well. I feel sorry for you, but this is not an excuse to take revenge on defenseless children, baby boys mostly and I don’t understand how you can do that without being ashamed of yourself. Well, it’s just excuses, or medical excuses, or plain and simple fallacies. I feel sorry for you, but I also feel ashamed in the name of womanhood. You don’t respect your Hippocratic oath if you even know what it’s all about. Well, I’ll remind you it’s first “do no harm.” You’re just plain bitches, and I’m not insulting the female dog there. You are very mean, and I’m disgusted.

Related: 10 Circumcision Myths – Let’s Get the Facts Straight 

Dolores Sangiuliano, RN

I’m a registered nurse, and we have an ethical code, the AMA Code of Ethics for Nurses, and it states very clearly that we are charged with the duty to protect our vulnerable patients. If we’re not protecting our vulnerable patients, then our license isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. If anybody is vulnerable, it’s a newborn baby. You know, a child with no voice, and that’s why I carry this sign: “I will not do anything evil or malicious and I will not knowingly… assist in malpractice”.

Infant circumcision is maleficence and malpractice. It’s totally unethical. Proxy consent is only valid for a procedure. In other words, parents can give consent for a procedure for their child. That’s proxy consent in a case of treatment or diagnosis, and circumcision is neither. You’re not treating a disease, and you’re not trying to diagnose an illness. So it just flies in the face of everything we know to be ethical, right, and moral. And I believe that forced genital cutting, all forced genital cutting, is always wrong. It should be consented to, fully informed consent, and that fully informed consent needs to include what you’re cutting off the penis, the value of the foreskin, and the consequences of changing the structure from a mobile, fluid unit to this dowel like structure, and that needs to be included. Ethical nurses educate their patients. Ethical nurses teach intact care, and ethical nurses don’t participate in forced genital cutting ever.

A woman from Egypt came up to us and she said,” I totally agree with you. Female circumcision happens in our country all the time, and it’s illegal but it still goes on. And it’s our cultural shame.” And she said, “I totally understand you having your cultural shame for doing this and it is the same thing.” And we just had a total agreement conversation about, and it doesn’t matter the varying degrees. We don’t need to compare the varying degrees of harm. Because a lot of people say female circumcision is much worse. But right out of her mouth she said, “But no, it’s the same. To the person having it done, it’s the same.” That was really good.

A Danish woman came and said, during her college days, she came to the United States and had a little bit of fun one season and she had sex with an American man. She was horrified because she didn’t know what had happened to him. She thought he had been in some sort of industrial accident. She didn’t know how to ask him or how to approach it. So that was an interesting tale, and I really appreciated the term industrial accident in a new way cause this is an industry, the medical industry. It’s not so accidental. Although their intention is to say that they’ve improved our males, they, perhaps by accident, devastated us and devastated so many men sexually and in their souls.

Kira Antinuk RN

Feminism, at its best, encourages me to think broadly and critically about the potentially harmful effects of gender constructions on all people. To me, feminism should be more than a narrow interest group of women who care only about women’s issues or women’s rights. My feminism is bigger than that. I believe that feminism can help us to identify and challenge discourses and practices that engender all of us.

… Upon review in 2009, scholars Marie Fox and Michael Thompson found that most feminists’ considerations of female genital cutting either omit to consider male genital cutting altogether or deem it a matter of little ethical or legal concern. Why might this be? So biomedical ethicist Dena Davis observed that the very use of the term “circumcision” carries vaguely medical connotations and serves to normalize the practice of male genital cutting.

Conversely, it’s worth noting, how the term female circumcision was essentially erased from academic, legal, and to some extent popular discourse following the World Health Organization’s re-designation of the practice as FGM or female genital mutilation in 1990. The WHO’s justification was that the new terminology carried stronger moral weight. So, terminology then, as well as the differential constructions of the practices themselves seems to protect male genital cutting from the critical scrutiny that other practices like female genital cutting attract.

Now it seems pretty clear to me, that this asymmetry extends to the very different understandings of genitalia and human tissue that we all have. Here in the West, for example, we’re heavily invested in the clitoris to the extent, that its excision results in what Canadian anthropologist Janice Body referred to as “serious personal diminishment.” Janice Body went on to say, “We customarily amputate babies’ foreskins, not with some controversy, but little alarm. Yet global censure of these practices is scarcely comparable to that level of female circumcision. Is it because these excisions are performed on boys and only girls and women figure as victims in our cultural lexicon?”

Sophia Murdock, RN

After we had taken the newborn back to the “circ room” in the nursery, I watched the nurse gather the necessary supplies, place him on a plastic board [a circumstraint], and secure his arms and legs with Velcro straps. He started crying as his tiny and delicate body was positioned onto the board, and I instantly felt uncomfortable and disturbed seeing this helpless newborn with his limbs extended in such an unnatural position, against his will. My instincts wanted to unstrap him, pick him up, and comfort and protect him. I felt an intense sensation of apprehension and dread about what would be done to him. When the doctor entered the room, my body froze, my stomach dropped, and my chest tightened.

This precious baby was an actual person. He was a 2-day-old boy named Landon, but the doctor barely acknowledged him before administering an injection of lidocaine into his penis.

Instantly, Landon began to let out a horrifying cry. It was a sound that is not normally ever heard in nature because this trauma is so far outside of the normal range of experiences and expectations for a newborn.

The doctor, perhaps sensing how horrified I was, tried to assure me that the baby was crying because he didn’t like being strapped onto the board. He began the circumcision procedure right away, barely giving the anesthetic any time to take effect.

Landon’s cries became even more intense, something I hadn’t imagined was possible. It seemed as if his lungs were unable to keep up with his screams and desperate attempts to maintain his respirations.

Seeing how nonchalant everyone in the room was about Landon’s obvious distress was one of the most chilling and harrowing things I had ever witnessed. I honestly don’t remember the actual procedure, even though the doctor was explaining it to me. I can’t recall a word he said during or after because I wasn’t able to focus on anything but Landon’s screams and why no one seemed to care. I only remember that the nurse attempted to give him a pacifier with glucose/fructose at some point.

Landon was “sleeping” by the end of the circumcision, but I knew it was from exhaustion and defeat. I had watched as his fragile, desperate, and immobilized body struggled and resisted until it couldn’t do so anymore and gave up.

Seeing this happen made me feel completely sick to my stomach, and I told myself that I would absolutely refuse to watch another circumcision if the opportunity presented itself again. I was unable to stop thinking about what I saw and heard…

The sounds that I heard come from Landon as he screamed and cried out still haunt me to this day.

Darlene Owen, RN

The truth about circumcision is that it is not medically necessary. It is not cleaner. Studies have proven again and again that it has no direct relation on cancer etc. as was once thought. It is also a very painful procedure. The baby does feel it, experience it.

There have been studies that demonstrate actual MRI changes within an infant’s brain after a circumcision has been performed.

As for those who claim “it looks better”, my response is, “Really? Based on whose decision?” A penis with a foreskin is how the penis is supposed to look. The foreskin has a function. It provides protection of the very sensitive glans (head) of the penis, and it provides ease during intercourse. During intercourse, the penis moves within its foreskin, preventing rubbing or friction of the vagina, which makes intercourse far more pleasurable for both the man and woman.

Many people will respond in outrage over female circumcision, yet still consider circumcision of males “the norm.”

Many parents aren’t properly informed of the procedure. It IS a very serious procedure with very many real risks involved. In my experience as a post-partum nurse, many parents who were led to believe it was a “minor” procedure and observed their sons’ circumcision, were sickened just as I was at the actual pain and distress it caused their infant. I have had many patients who, after witnessing their first son’s circumcision, decided immediately that they would not get any other boys they may have circumcised. Many parents told me that they wished they had known just how painful it would be for their son, that they would not have even considered it if they had known what is actually involved.

As for the argument that many men want their son to look like them, my answer is, “Why?” It is a stupid argument. Why can’t parents simply teach their son that their son’s penis is “normal and healthy”, that “Daddy had his normal, healthy functioning skin of his penis removed surgically, unnecessarily.” I also always say to those people, “Really? Well, watch an actual circumcision, and see if you still feel that way afterwards.” I have yet to see any parent watch a video, or view an actual circumcision procedure, who is not completely against the idea afterwards.

An uncircumcised penis is very easy to keep clean. There is no special care required. The saying goes, “Clean only what is seen.”

As for worrying about the son’s foreskin not retracting, and needing a circumcision later in life, that actually only occurs in a very, very small number of males. However, even if the male does need the surgery later in life, he will be put to sleep for the procedure and will not feel it. He will also be managed comfortably with pain medication. A newborn doesn’t have any of those benefits. A newborn is awake for it, will feel it, and doesn’t receive any pain medication.

Ask any grown male if he’d get his penis circumcised while awake, with no freezing, and I guarantee you’d hear a very loud resounding “NO!” Yet, many men will put their newborn son through it. Doesn’t make much sense does it?

I realize that at one time it was considered the norm. Now, however, with all of the education about it, I cannot understand why parents still proceed to put their tiny little newborn son through such a horrific experience.

I am proud to say that I am an intactivist and the proud mom of two gorgeous, healthy, intact boys.

Related: Doctors Against Vaccines – Hear From Those Who Have Done the Research

Andrew, RN

I am a registered nurse. I work at a DC hospital. It’s not part of my current job, but when I was in nursing school, I witnessed several circumcisions as part of my rotation, and I was interested in it because personally, I had developed an opposition to circumcision.

As an adult, I never had to be part of that decision not having a child. But I knew that if I did, it was one that I would want to make. And when I had the opportunity, I asked a doctor whom I watched perform it if he thought it was medically necessary because in my education, it is no longer stated, there is no longer a valid medical claim being made in the literature including in my nursing textbooks and so how can you justify it? And he said that he doesn’t personally justify it. He just knows that for the time being, it will continue to be done and he wants it done humanely and as well as possible. And he said “And I do it well” And indeed, he seemed to be proficient in it. I then asked him if he had noticed that the husband of the couple who had just had it done had seemed like he had his doubts and he said, “Yeah, I noticed that too”. “Do you think someone should have discussed it further with him because he clearly didn’t support the decision.” And then he said that that happens all the time, that one of the two of the couple want that decision made and the other go along with it.

My nurse’s perspective is that part of our job as an educator is to give more information, and so that would have been a great opportunity for someone to give that couple more information about whatever concerns the mother had that made her think that circumcision was the best decision. She seemed actually like she had some ill-conceived notions about the difficulty of keeping it clean, things that I knew that medically were not actually accurate. I actually thought at that time that I saw an opportunity for nurses to step in and educate her, to help and not tell the couple what they should do, but make sure they had the best information possible to make a decision, that again, is no longer being promoted clearly on the literature as medically necessary, including in my textbooks, and this was just last year.

Carole Alley, RN

And after the strap down and tie, they’re still screaming. The screaming lasts the entire time. And I don’t know if you’ve ever heard a baby scream like that. It’s not a regular cry. It’s not a cry of hunger or a cry of wanting to be hugged or a cry of having a wet diaper. This is a cry of incredible pain. I mean, it goes right through your body. Every cell in your body responds. And then the child is circumcised. You know, there are two different ways of doing it. Sometimes anesthesia local will be used but for the most part, I’ve never seen babies stop crying, even if that’s given. A lot of the time, it’s not used. More often than not, it’s not used. And then the clamp goes over the baby’s penis and the foreskin is cut off.

Patricia Worth, RN

In my opinion, this is an abuse. There is not enough information out there to convince me that this is medically necessary. And just as I can read through the Old Testament of the Bible, and stoning women to death because they committed adultery, I see as abusive, this “ancient covenant,” I look at it as a well, the human race has done all kinds of things and thought was the best thing at the time, and in retrospect, we can look back and go, blood sacrifice of human beings? This is not right. This is not morally right. This is not ethical. And especially when you’re taking someone who has not consented. Parents can consent all they want. This does not mean the child has consented to this.

Marilyn Milos, RN The Mother of the Intactivist Movement

While working as a nurse in a hospital, she learned about circumcision by assisting doctors during the procedure. The obvious pain and distress felt by the infant prompted Marilyn to research circumcision. Afterwards, she was able to provide parents with all of the facts.

By offering true informed consent, she dramatically cut into her hospitals’ cutting business. She was fired. Undaunted, she went to work saving our sons. She founded a non-profit known as NOCIRC, demonstrating that one person can still make a difference.

Here are her words:

The more we understand what was taken, the more we understand the harm of circumcision, that it is a primal wound, that it does interfere with the maternal-infant bond, that it disturbs breastfeeding and normal sleep patterns. Most importantly, that it undermines the first developmental task, which is to establish trust. And how can that male ever trust again? And I think that’s very hard for a lot of men and why men need to have control and be in control, and their reactions to make themselves more safe.

It was so amazing to me when I worked in a hospital, and my first question would be, “I see—I see that you’re gonna have the baby circumcised, and may I ask why you’ve chosen circumcision for your baby?” And they would say, “Oh, because I’m a Christian.” And I said, “Do you know that there’s 120 references to circumcision in the New Testament, that circumcision is of no value? If you’re a Christian you don’t live by outward signs. You live by faith expressed through love. Christ shed the last—was the last to shed the blood. He was the ultimate blood sacrifice for everybody. We don’t need to do this again.”

Conclusion

The hardest moral dilemmas seem to lie at the crossroads of two or more moral principles. In this instance, the right to religious freedom and the right to bodily integrity are in conflict for some parents. But if we are to uphold the right to bodily integrity for girls regardless of religion (Muslims often circumcise girls), shouldn’t we allow the same protection for boys?

Although religion is a factor, many parents choose circumcision simply because it is considered the norm. Myths about disease and cleanliness add to the confusion. When parents are not given all the facts, they cannot make an informed decision. On average, nurses are poorly equipped to answer their questions about circumcision. They do not educate parents, explaining the 16 functions of the foreskin or teach parents how to care for an intact child. (Nothing! Do not retract the foreskin. It cleans itself!)

Our sons’ genitals are carved apart in the name of healthcare when in actuality the practice is a profit-making enterprise. Circumcisions generate a lot of money for hospitals, while intact penises bring in no money at all. So while it is ethical for a nurse to provide parents with informed consent, it is wholly unprofitable for them to do so.

The truth will win. Circumcision is a profound violation of human rights. This conclusion is inescapable once we begin to think critically about the practice.

Author’s Note:

Male genital mutilation is still legal in all 50 states, and although Marilyn Milos hasn’t yet completely changed the world, she changed mine.

I am the second born of two sons. My older brother was circumcised. I was not.

Before my birth, my mother met a neighbor who had been given literature from NOCIRC. The sharing of this information about the benefits of the foreskin and the dangers and drawbacks of circumcision is the reason I was left intact.

Marilyn Milos bet on the idea that when given all the facts, more parents would make the right decision, and in my case she was spot on. I am intact, my sons are intact, and my nephews are intact.

Marilyn, I can never thank you enough for what you’ve done for me and for my family. You are an inspiration to us all.

Sources

• Circumcision- A Male RN’s Perspective: Chris – Dr.Momma.org
• Ethical Nurse Refuses to Assist Infant Circumcision: Dolores Sanguiliano – YouTube
• Nurses For the Rights of the Child
• Nurse Questions Women Who Sexually Mutilate Boys: Jacqueline Maire – YouTube
• Registered Nurse Shares Thoughts About Circumcision: Andrew – YouTube

An overactive response from the immune system might have something to do with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, according to a study published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology. Patients with Hepatitis C infections were treated with injections of interferon alpha, a naturally-occurring protein known for provoking an immune response. This treatment is normally associated with feelings of fatigue, but a third (18) of the 55 people observed in this study had fatigue levels higher than normal six months later, which is termed “persistent fatigue,” a precursor to chronic fatigue syndrome. According to lead researcher Dr. Alice Russell from King’s College London,

For the first time, we have shown that people who are prone to develop a CFS-like illness have an overactive immune system, both before and during a challenge to the immune system. Our findings suggest that people who have an exaggerated immune response to a trigger may be more at risk of developing CFS.”

Related: Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones

Chronic Fatigue and the Immune System

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), or myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), is characterized by tiredness that isn’t improved with rest and persists for more than six months. Scientists and doctors haven’t been able to pinpoint the cause of chronic fatigue syndrome. It all begins with the microbiome. That also pertains to the immune system. Those who experienced an immune response were more likely to exhibit the precursors of chronic fatigue syndrome. The microbiome controls the immune system. There is a connection between our microbiome and CFS. Researchers at Cornell University discovered a link between inflammation, a lack of gut microbe diversity, and CFS. Another study from Columbia University detected elevated levels of certain bacterias in chronic fatigue sufferers. There is definitely a link between an unbalanced microbiome and CFS. That could also provide an explanation for the connections being made between the immune system and the condition. It’s all connected.

CFS and Women

We may not know what causes chronic fatigue, but we do know who it affects. Women are 2 to 4 times more likely to develop CFS than men. That’s true of most autoimmune disorders, and this study brings up a potential reason for that. Estrogen increases immune system activity while testosterone does the opposite. In fact, testosterone turns on a specific gene that decreases the immune system’s response. That supports the new research here. If an immune response is a factor in developing chronic fatigue syndrome, it would make sense that those who experience more immune responses are more likely to develop CFS.

Related:How to Detoxify and Heal the Lymphatic System

Dig A Little Deeper

The immune response itself is not the cause of CFS. Only a third of those provoked in this study reported persistent fatigue. There’s also the fact that an immune response can be a good thing. There are microbes we want the immune system to respond to, keeping us from getting sick. But an immune system that’s constantly on alert creates stress on multiple body systems. Eventually, the immune system will falter.

For more on the immune system, check out: Make Your Immune System Bulletproof with These Natural Remedies

Editor’s Note:

I don’t really buy into the concept of an “overactive immune system.” When someone has this condition, in almost every case, the gut is unwell and is leaking undigested proteins, chemicals, and pathogens into the bloodstream. I recommend How To Heal Your Gut for anyone dealing with an autoimmune condition.

Sources:

• Chronic fatigue syndrome ‘could be triggered by overactive immune system’ – The Guardian
• Clues to chronic fatigue syndrome in overactive immune response – Medical Xpress
• Persistent fatigue induced by interferon-alpha: a novel, inflammation-based, proxy model of chronic fatigue syndrome – Science Direct
• Chronic fatigue syndrome linked to imbalanced microbiome – Science Daily
• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Starts in Your Gut – Mercola
• Gut microbiome regulates the intestinal immune system – Science Daily
• Why Men Get Sick More Often Than Women – Everyday Health

If you’re a person of European ancestry from the United States, United Kingdom, or Iceland, congratulations! A recent study review published in Communications Biology examined 3,369 genome-wide association studies (GWAS) conducted from 2005 to 2018 and found that more than 80 percent of the people studied had a European background, and 72 percent of discoveries were made from studies examining individuals from those three countries. Seventy-six percent of the world’s 7 billion people live in Asia and Africa, populations underexamined in genome studies. This lack of diversity limits the potential for discoveries and decreases the effectiveness of genetically targeted treatments. As the authors of this review conclude,

A central finding was that our results once again emphasized the potential for a cycle of disadvantage for underrepresented communities and despite continued efforts, infusing diversity into genomics remains challenging.”

So what are genome-wide association studies?

Where the Data Comes From

Why do genome studies lack diversity? This is due in large part to where the data is coming from. Many of these genome-wide studies rely on genetic material obtained from testing sites like 23andme. Those results are heavily skewed. Less than three years ago, researchers from Stanford estimated as many as 90 percent of the research into the genetics of disease was based on people of European descent. Services like this also explain why Iceland, a country with less than 350,000 people, figures prominently into genetic research. The Icelandic company, deCODE Genetics, has been cataloging genetic information for more than 20 years, and nearly a third of the population has had at least part of their genome sequenced.

Other Influences

Funding also plays a role in genome study results. Of the more than 3,000 studies examined in this review, 85 percent of the funding acknowledgments referenced grants and other agencies in the U.S. Another 14 percent are based in the United Kingdom. This means the rest of the world is responsible for funding one percent of available genome-wide studies. Both the U.S. and the U.K. are predominantly composed of people with European ancestry (61 and 87 percent, respectively). 

Another explanation for the overrepresentation of European ancestry in genome-wide studies is the people releasing them. Of the ten most connected and influential authors of genome studies, 9 are based in Europe. Three work for deCODE genetics in Iceland. Another three work for Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands, though that number would have been 4 prior to 2016. The only non-European author (based at Harvard University in the U.S.) also used to work at Erasmus. The work of these European men (and woman) is highly influential. Their articles and studies have been cumulatively cited over 200,000 times, and all of these scientists have strong European ties.

Echo Chambers

Genome-wide association studies are still a relatively new area of study (the first successful study was in 2002). These studies use a majority of data from those with European ancestry, receive funds from agencies in countries with a majority of European ancestry, and are authored by white, mostly European scientists. It creates an echo chamber. That can limit, and in some cases, even hinder discovery.

The Oxford researchers responsible for this study call for more diversity, both ethnically and geographically.

GWAS that utilize data from diverse populations will provide more accurately targeted therapeutic treatments to more of the world’s population, extend insights into the architecture of traits and uncover rare variants with significant effect sizes, which replicate across ancestries.”

Sources:

• A scientometric review of genome-wide association studies – Nature.com
• 23andMe has a problem when it comes to ancestry reports for people of color – Quartz
• Why Iceland is the World’s Greatest Genetic Laboratory – Wired

A new study shows that women who drink two or more diet drinks a day are 30% more likely to have heart problems, including heart attack and stroke, and 50 percent more likely to die from related disease. The University of Iowa included nearly 60,000 women, making it the largest study of it’s kind.

The study looked at diet soda and diet fruit drink intake and heart health for women participating in the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study, comparing women who never or only rarely consume diet drinks to those who consume two or more a day.

This is one of the largest studies on this topic, and our findings are consistent with some previous data, especially those linking diet drinks to the metabolic syndrome.” – Dr.Ankur Vyas, lead investigator of the study

Recommended: How To Heal Your Gut

Diet drinks were defined as a 12-ounce beverage of diet soda or a diet fruit drink.

After an average follow-up of 8.7 years, the primary outcome—defined as a composite of incident coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure, heart attack, coronary revascularization procedure, ischemic stroke, peripheral arterial disease, and cardiovascular death—occurred in 8.5 percent of the women consuming two or more diet drinks a day compared to 6.9 percent in the five-to-seven diet drinks per week group; 6.8 percent in the one-to-four drinks per week group; and 7.2 percent in the zero-to-three per month group.

The association persisted even after researchers adjusted the data to account for demographic characteristics and other cardiovascular risk factors, including body mass index, smoking, hormone therapy use, physical activity, energy intake, salt intake, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and sugar-sweetened beverage intake. On average, women who consumed two or more diet drinks a day were younger, more likely to be smokers, and had a higher prevalence of diabetes, high blood pressure, and higher body mass index.” – Iowa State

Related:  If You Drink Soda, It’s Probably The Worst Thing You Do To Yourself (even worse than smoking!)

There are several animal studies linking phthalates, parabens, and other personal care product chemicals to endocrine disruption, and a study published in the journal Human Reproduction shows that humans are not exempt from that group. Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley looked at 338  children from birth to adolescence, obtaining urine samples to determine chemical levels and looking for signs of puberty development at nine-month intervals from the age of nine. The study shows that every time a mother’s phthalate levels doubled in concentration, their daughters grew pubic hair 1.3 months earlier than expected. Kim Harley, lead author of the study and associate director of the Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health at the University of California, Berkeley says,

There has been considerable concern about why girls are entering puberty earlier and hormone disrupting chemicals like the ones in personal care products that we studied have been suggested as one possible reason…”

Endocrine Disruptors

Many of the chemicals measured in this study are known endocrine disruptors. Phthalates, parabens, and triclosan have all been found to have numerous negative effects on the body, and they’re very stable. This study found that endocrine disruptors measured while a child was still in utero had a link to abnormal hormonal events occurring a decade later. The chemicals are also measured in tiny amounts, parts per billion, indicating that a little goes a long way (or causes a lot of damage). Here’s a look at where to find these chemicals and why you should avoid them.

Related: How to Detox From Plastics and Other Endocrine Disruptors

Phthalates

Phthalates are nearly impossible to avoid. This group of chemicals is used to make plastics more flexible, and in addition to being present in virtually every type of plastic packaging, you can also find phthalates in computer cords, toys, cars, personal care items, detergents, and flooring. Phthalates are also found in various foods, though oils, dairy, and meat (especially chicken) have consistently registered high levels of the chemicals.

This is bad news for the endocrine system. It’s also a potential factor in other health problems. A 2014 study from researchers at Columbia University found a marked increase in asthma among children exposed to large concentrations of phthalates in the womb. Phthalates have also been linked to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, breast cancer, obesity, diabetes, neurodevelopmental issues, behavioral issues, and autism spectrum disorders.

Parabens

Parabens are used in preservatives, and you’ve probably seen them in the ingredient list of products like deodorants, shampoos, lotions, and other personal care products. Many conventional products have more than one type of paraben. These chemicals effectively prevent the growth of bacteria and are also used to preserve food and beverages like beer, sauces, desserts, sodas, processed fish, jams, pickles, frozen dairy products, processed vegetables, and flavoring syrups. A study conducted in Albany, New York in 2013 collected a range of food samples and found parabens in 90 percent of them.

The biggest controversy regarding parabens and health has to do with the chemical’s classification as xenoestrogens. This means they imitate estrogen in the body. This, in turn, disrupts the endocrine system. While a 2004 study in the U.K. that found parabens in malignant breast cancer tumors was hotly disputed, a more recent study (2015) from the Silent Spring Institute and the University of California Berkeley also suggested a significant link between parabens and cancer cells. Dale Leitman, a gynecologist and molecular biologist at UC Berkeley, is the study’s lead investigator.

Although parabens are known to mimic the growth effects of estrogens on breast cancer cells, some consider their effect too weak to cause harm…But this might not be true when parabens are combined with other agents that regulate cell growth.”

Related: Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones

Triclosan

Triclosan is an antibacterial and antifungal chemical that’s frequently added to soaps, toothpaste, toys, kitchen materials, yoga mats, cosmetics, and athletic clothing. Interestingly, the chemical was initially registered as a pesticide at its introduction in 1969. Until 2016, it could also be found in hand sanitizers. Triclosan has since been banned for use in sanitizer products by the Food and Drug Administration. That ban has not stopped the public from being exposed to triclosan through a myriad of other means.

The antibacterial qualities of triclosan disrupt gut bacteria, and the chemical has been linked to chronic colon inflammation and colon cancer. It’s also been shown to alter hormone regulations in animal studies. This new study indicates that triclosan behaves the same way in humans as well.

New Normal

You can try your best to avoid these chemicals. This involves avoiding all plastics, anything that came into contact with plastics, any products with artificial fragrances, filter all of the water in your house, avoid food sprayed with any kind of chemicals, and stay away from any and all Bisphenol products, among other things. Unfortunately, the only way to accomplish a few of the items on that list requires checking out of modern life. All of this poses a huge challenge for understanding puberty – what do we do when what we know changes?

Sources:

• Chemicals in cosmetics, soaps tied to early puberty in girls – Reuters
• Association of phthalates, parabens and phenols found in personal care products with pubertal timing in girls and boys – Human Reproduction
• Chemicals in some household plastics linked to child asthma risk – The Guardian
• How to Detox From Plastics and Other Endocrine Disruptors – Organic Lifestyle Magazine
• 10 Surprising Places You Can Find Phthalates – Naturally Savvy
• Lotion ingredient paraben may be more potent carcinogen than thought – Berkeley News
• Triclosan could be really harmful to your gut, and it’s probably in your toothpaste – LA Times

 

 

A few days ago we saw a tweet that just seemed too good to be true:

The gang at #CNN has to retract and revise photo it claimed was child with #measles when it is discovered child was actually suffering adverse reaction to measles #vaccine. #FakeNews #YouCantMakeThisStuffUp https://t.co/tqxTIJdpyL

— The HighWire (@HighWireTalk) February 1, 2019

Recommended: How To Heal Your Gut

Did CNN really post an image of a vaccine reaction instead of an image of the measles?

We saw the original article and remembered that image but we didn’t think much of it at the time. Of course, we trust Del Bigtree’s vaccine reporting, but we still had to verify it for ourselves.

And it’s true.

Scroll down to the bottom of the Washington is under a state of emergency as measles cases rise article and see where it says,

Correction: This article and an accompanying video previously included a photograph of a child with a rash linked to a vaccination. The image has been removed.

And check the Wayback Machine internet archives here to see the original article with the image.

Related: How To Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children